Airline SafetyBy Moshe Katz, Krav Maga Instructor, Israel

El Al flying safely over Jerusalem, the eternal capital of Israel.

El Al keeps you safe.

Airline safety is one of the many areas where Israel leads the world,
and teaches the world. Simply put, we have no choice and we have a great deal of practical experience. Due to no fault
of our own, we have to deal with many potential hijackers. We must fight
for our right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. We have no choice if we wish to be free and independent. We must always be on our toes.

Israeli
airline security is like no other. The only airline that I trust is El
Al Israel airlines. Although I fly other airlines when I am traveling
within the USA or Europe, I am always alert. While waiting to board I pay close
attention to the passengers. And yes, of course I profile, anyone with
any sense would. If there is anyone I feel uncomfortable about, I pay
close attention to them throughout the flight.

One of the things
we recommend is that early in the flight, or before you board, try to
locate someone whom you think would be willing and able to help you,
should an emergency arise.

If you do have to fight on the plane;
it is best you know how. It is not the same as fighting in the dojo
(martial arts school) and most of your techniques will be useless at
best. Most traditional martial arts developed long before plane travel
was common.

A good source for
more information on how to handle airborne terrorists, is that of my friend (and long time instructor who certified me as a Krav Maga instructor), Itay Gil, one of the foremost authorities on Krav
Maga today. His book "The Citizen's Guide to Stopping Suicide
Attackers" by Paladin Press has an excellent chapter "The highest
Stakes".

Here some tips from the book:

Request an aisle seat - Otherwise you will be stuck in your seat! An aisle seat gives you greater mobility.

Meet
the People - If you see someone who might be able to help in such a
potential situation, introduce yourself and learn their name. It may
come in handy if you later need to shout for help.

Look Around - As I mentioned earlier, take a good look at your fellow passengers, profile, look for potential trouble makers.

Do Not Make a Bad Trade - If one person is being threatened, this does not mean you should sit
back and accept whatever happens. Although each life is precious, one
life does not equal 100, or however many passengers are on board.

For more tips and important information; read the book.

Self Defense Techniques

Realize that due to the narrow confines of an airplane, most martial
arts techniques will not be useful, only close quarter combat
techniques will be of use. Fortunately that is Krav Maga's specialty.

Most
likely you would face a knife threat, there are many techniques to deal
with these situations, but you will have to have had some training and
be able to perform them in a high stress situation; Practice!

Improvised Weapons

Look
around the plane, see what is available, a belt, a rolled up newspaper
or magazine, a cup of hot coffee? (imagine hot coffee or tea splashing
in a terrorist's face), some of the items on your tray? There are many
possibilities, keep your eyes open. Some people consider this excessive
but once you do it a few times it becomes habit; develop a mental
exercise by always imagining what you can do and what potential weapons
exist. This is called a "Warrior's Mindset"

Of course, proper training and developing a warrior's mindset before the flight, are very important.

Airline security is everybody's responsibility, we are
allies
in this struggle against international terrorism.

Train in Israel

Come to Israel where we recreate airline hostages situations and offer simple yet very effective techniques to control the situation. We have trained airline security guards, pilots and flight attendants from all over the world.

Sessions in March, June and November each year.

Cost for the basic 11 day course: $1,400, payable in dollars, Euro, Pound Sterling, or Israeli Shekel. Discounts for IKI members worldwide.Discounts for repeat participants.